Granada Hills Charter High School

The need for gun safety

In modern times, gun violence is constantly normalized in American society to the point where it is almost a surprise when the news goes a day without announcing how someone’s life was taken or threatened with a gun. According to Pew Research center, nearly half of households in America legally possess a gun, which does not take into consideration the thousands, if not millions, of people who illegally possess guns.

In multiple cases each year, there are mass shootings in locations such as workplaces, schools, and airports, leading to an overwhelming amount of casualties. According to Everytown Research Center For Fun Safely, over 12,000 people in the United States are murdered by the hands of gun violence, excluding suicides. There are countless ways in which people can die by the hands of guns, both legally and illegally in the law’s eyes. Police brutality these days almost encouraged the idea that you can get away with murder by gun if you have the resources or reputation to avoid heavy and deserved jail time. In the past decade, only 12 police officers were charged for deadly on duty shootings while there are approximately 1,200 people killed by police per year according to the Wall Street Journal.

Another factor that contributes to gun violence is mental health. According to Mental Health America, 1 out of every 5 adults suffers from some sort of mental condition. Although not all people with mental health disorders are violent, disorders such as Schizophrenia , bipolar disorder, and personality disorder, may edge on violent tendencies on not only other people, but also upon themselves. Without access to guns, people with mental disorders and those surrounding statistically can be much safer.

Guns should not be recreational in the United States, but our society today is far too corrupt to do anything about it. There are too many guns that are illegally obtained now, so there will never be a foolproof way to take guns away from everyone. However, according to MSNBC, about 80 percent of guns used in shootings are legally obtained which proves guns obtained legally are not always used for safety and security measures.

By allowing both citizens and law enforcement officials to obtain guns, America chooses to fight fire with fire. On top of this, law enforcement and politics have shown that not all police officers do their jobs properly. Therefore the only antidote to gun violence is in fact the poison, or guns itself.

By allowing guns to get this far, the American government single handedly corrupted American society and made it full of gun violence, and not a domestically safe place.